Toronto Acquires Nathan Sturgis

Toronto FC announced Thursday they have acquired midfielder Nathan Sturgis from Vancouver Whitecaps FC in exchange for their natural first round selection (eighth overall) in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft. On Wednesday, Sturgis, 23, was selected by Vancouver from Seattle Sounders FC in the 2010 MLS Expansion Draft.

“We are very happy to be able to bring Nathan to the club,” said Earl Cochrane, Toronto FC interim director of soccer. “He is a player who will be able to make an immediate impact in our team next season, but is also young enough to play a role here in the long term. We studied the options that would likely be available to us with our first round pick in the MLS SuperDraft and made the decision that the addition of Nathan is of greater benefit to our squad.”

In 2011, Sturgis will be entering his sixth season in Major League Soccer. He started a career high 16 games for Seattle in 2010 and scored one goal, a penalty in a 4-0 win at Columbus Crew on September 18.

Sturgis began his MLS career in 2006 when he was selected by Los Angeles Galaxy from Clemson University as the 12th overall pick in the SuperDraft. In June 2007 he was traded to Real Salt Lake and was then selected by Seattle in the 2008 MLS Expansion Draft.

Sturgis was born in Florida and has represented the United States at youth level. He has twice been named in the U.S. squad for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, including the tournament held in Canada in 2007 where he played in every match as the American team reached the Quarterfinals.